Against All Odds
by Shadow Smith
Summary: What if Shane hadn't left Rick at the hospital at the start of the zombie apocalypse? Trapped in a house with only an injured Rick, Shane discovers feelings he didn't know he had. Slash
1. Injured

**Against All Odds**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead, because if I did Shane and Rick would have hooked up at least once, and Shane would have never turned into a psycho bastard. What does Lori has a magic pussy or something? **

**Mature Audiences Only****! 18+ for strong language, graphic violence, sexual content**

**Summary: What if Shane hadn't left Rick at the hospital at the start of the zombie apocalypse? Trapped in a house with only an injured Rick, Shane discovers feelings he didn't know he had. Slash **

**Genre: Adventure, Romance, Drama, Slash**

**Couple: Shane/Rick**

**A/N: My Rick and Shane fic, this one is the first part of a series. Sorry for mistakes! And comments make me write faster, so if you like it, comment on it. ;-) And see I have to bribe you, because otherwise I wouldn't get any comments. Anyway. Please enjoy.**

* * *

CHAPTER 1

INJURED

Shane peeked out the front window. Zombies still crowded the street, looking for him, led there by the smell of Rick's blood that still stained the street. Shane hated this. There was a car in the garage, and even if it were safe to move Rick, what could Shane do? Drive until the horde of zombies become too thick to move through?

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard a soft moan from the other room. He walked in and put his shotgun down, kneeling by Rick's side. The man was lying on the mattress, his face sweaty and pale. At least the wound in his shoulder finally stopped bleeding. Shane turned towards the bowl by the table and squeezed the white cloth of excess water.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked softly. He wiped Rick's face with the cloth, clearing away the sweat, wishing he could also wipe away the pain. All he had was ibuprofen, and not even the strong kind.

"Lori…" Rick whined. "Carl…"

"They're… they're okay," Shane said, hating the taste his lie put in his mouth. "You just rest now, you hear? You have to get better so we can leave this place."

"Lori…" Rick whispered, before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep. Shane sighed deeply. If Rick got better Shane was going to have to tell him the truth. Shane wanted nothing more than for Rick to get better, but he didn't want to be there when he told Rick what happened to his family.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane opened his eyes to the sound of banging. He blushed when he realized where he'd fallen asleep – right next to Rick on the mattress. Even more embarrassing, Rick's head was resting on his arm. Shane heard another bang and that even woke Rick up.

"Huh…?" Rick groaned.

"Shh," Shane said softly, picking up his shotgun. "I'll be right back, don't you worry."

"Please don't…" Rick sighed, but went back to sleep. Suppressing the urge to touch Rick, Shane snatched up his shotgun and marched towards the noise. It wasn't in the front of the house, it was towards the back. He crept down the hallway cautiously, his gun held out in front of him. Another bang made him jump.

He reached the door at the end of the hallway. It was eerily like a horror movie, Shane noticed. He still opened the door that led down to a long staircase and another door.

When something slammed against the door again Shane knew exactly what was going on. He flipped the switch before racing down the stairs, shotgun in hand. Before even opening the door he fired, putting a huge hole in the door. He kicked it opened and saw the walker was lying on its back, its entire body twitching even though there was a huge hole in its middle half.

It gurgled on its blood while twitching on the floor. Shane sneered at the walker. Probably the owner of the house, who trapped himself down here after being bitten. Shane wasn't going to wait to find out if there were more. He used the butt of the gun to bash the walker's head into goo, while its limbs flailed around.

After he was done Shane fled the room, closing the ruined door and the second door behind him. He tried not to get any walker blood in the carpet, but little drips came off the butt of his gun. After checking on Rick quickly Shane cleaned up at the kitchen sink.

Before the water went out he wanted to take a shower… and he blushed when he thought of Rick joining him.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Rick went in and out of sleep for a while, and nothing he said made much sense. Shane was glad that the family who previously lived here had a reserve of canned goods, but it would only last for so much longer. And with the horde of zombies still right outside of the house and Rick still delirious Shane knew he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. But how long would the canned food last?

He was getting restless, hated stay in one place for so long. A month had passed and he was chomping at the bit to leave, but he couldn't, not yet. He would have even braved the horde if Rick wasn't still feeling like total shit. So instead he took care of Rick, put all of his energy into that.

He found himself lying down on the mattress with Rick every night, letting the other man cuddle against him. Shane hated the way his face would heat up; his heart would begin to pound. He hated it.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane woke up the morning. The first thing he noticed was Rick's head was not resting on his arm. He sat up found Rick was not lying by his side. He practically leapt out of the bed, his shotgun in his hand, all but screaming, "Rick, where are you? Where'd you go? Rick? Rick?"

"H – here," Rick said softly.

Shane whirled around and saw Rick turn the corner, leaning heavily against the wall. He still looked awful but he was standing. Shane let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding, rushing over to Rick.

"Don't scare me like that," Shane said. "I thought the walkers had dragged you off while I was sleeping."

"Don't count on it," Rick smirked.

Shane reached out with his free arm and put his arm around Rick's waist, pulling Rick's weak body away from the wall and against his own. Rick relaxed against Shane's body, wrapping his arm around Shane's neck and letting Shane support his weight.

"How long have I been out?" Rick asked as Shane led him back to the mattress.

"A month," Shane said.

"A month?" Rick repeated, choking on the words.

"C'mon, sit down," Shane told him, helping him down onto the bed. Rick sighed as he went down on the mattress. Shane's heart was beating rapidly as he got ready to tell Rick the truth, about what happened to his family.

"Where's Lori, and Carl?" Rick asked.

_Fuck,_ Shane thought. He cleared his throat. Feeling it would be better to be at about eye level, Shane got down on one knee in front of Rick. "I need to tell you about that, Rick… you see, I –,"

Shane stopped talking when a faceless walker with a giant hole in its chest came out from the hallway.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	2. Basement

A/N: This series has a lot of fluff, but it's mixed in with creepy shit. It's like disturbing fluff. Like the kind of fluff a serial killer has after chopping up his victims. Halloween is just around the corner as I'm writing this, so I think this is perfect timing for this series. Please enjoy.

* * *

CHAPTER 2

BASEMENT

Rick saw Shane lift his shotgun, but not even Shane was fast enough when the zombie slipped on its own blood and slammed into Rick, knocking him into Shane, and all three of them hitting the ground. Rick was nearly blinded by the pain shooting through his shoulder.

"Shane," he found himself screaming, "Shane!"

The shotgun hit the ground and spun away. The walker's face had a single hole for its mouth. It opened its mouth and prepared to take a bite of Rick's throat. Shane grabbed the zombie's ruined face with his bare hands. He didn't cringe, but Rick did. Rick watched Shane lift the zombie off him and throw it aside.

"Up, up!" Shane cried, pushing Rick as he stumbled to his feet. Rick instinctually went for the shotgun, but Shane pushed him ahead, grabbing the shotgun for himself. He turned around and pointed the gun at the walker.

"Don't," Rick cried, pushing the gun down, "The others will hear you! We're right next to the front door."

"Fuck," Shane said as the walker got to its feet and started towards them. "We have to go to the basement."

Rick nodded once, taking the lead. Shane had the gun at the ready, pointing it at the walker as they went around it to the hallway. Rick ran to the shambles that used to be the doorway to the basement staircase. He paused, fumbling for the light switch.

"Other side," Shane cried.

Rick flipped the switch and he started down the basement, putting his hand on Shane's back as he went down into the darkness. If there was another walker down here they were dead, Rick knew it, because he was weak and weaponless and couldn't see in the complete darkness.

They reached the end of the staircase as the walker got to the beginning.

"Now?" Rick cried as Shane backed him into the darkness.

"Not yet," Shane said softly. "I was further down last time."

Something touched Rick's shoulder and he jolted. "Shane –!"

Shane turned around, seeing the hand reaching out from the shadows. He pulled Rick behind himself and raised the gun, firing at the arm. It jerked and disappeared into the darkness. Shane turned towards the staircase, the faceless zombie already reaching the end of the staircase. He fired twice, dropping the zombie down.

He turned to the other zombie – he heard more than one moan coming from the darkness – but they didn't come after him. They stayed were they were, the one closest to the light reaching out with its green, decomposed arm.

"Rick, help me find the light switch," Shane said.

Together they went towards the base of the staircase and felt around for the light switch. Rick finally found it and flicked it on at once. The entire basement was filled with light.

"Oh God," Shane gasped.

Four walkers were tied to shelves bolted to the ground. The one Shane shot was covered in blood, each of the walkers groaning and pulling at their restraints, a mix of rope and chain to keep them there. Rick took his eyes off the zombies long enough to spot some canned food underneath the sink.

"S – Shane," Rick whispered, pointing towards the cans.

Shane glanced at the cans, then back at the walkers. "I can't leave them in here with us."

"I know," Rick said. "But we have to conserve on our ammo."

"Then how will we kill them?" Shane asked.

Rick looked around and spotted it. He pointed to the chainsaw on the shelf between two zombies. "We can use that to cut off their legs and their heads."

"Good idea," Shane said.

Rick grimaced. It didn't feel like a good idea.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane sighed deeply, looking at the chainsaw in between the two zombies. "I don't know, I wouldn't want to get scratched out trying to get the damn chainsaw… maybe I should kill one of them first?"

"And waste more ammo?" Rick grumbled. He was sitting on the floor, against the washing machine, feeling the pain settle in from earlier. The adrenaline had blocked the pain, but now that he was calm his should throbbed like a mother fucker and he was having a hard time breathing. He hated feeling this way. He felt so useless.

"Hey."

Rick opened his eyes – he hadn't even realized he closed them – and saw Shane's face inches away from his. He took a sharp breath in and glanced around. Still in the basement.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah," Shane said. "You just went quiet and I…" he looked at Rick's shoulder and he could see a blood spot underneath the fabric. "You reopened your wounds, Rick."

Rick sighed deeply. "Yeah…"

"I'll fix you up later," Shane said. "Just let me take care of these walkers so we can rest in peace."

Resting… every night for the past month Rick has slept in Shane's arms. He didn't know what to think about it. It should feel wrong, but it didn't feel wrong at all. In fact it was downright comforting, the feeling of Shane's body so close to his own, protecting him, keeping him warm and caring for him.

Rick opened his eyes again. He'd fallen asleep again. Shane had a metal poll in his hands, and he was using it to fish for the handle of the chainsaw. He finally stuck the end into the handle of the chainsaw, slowly moving it away from the zombies. One of them smacked the chainsaw off the poll, and it went sliding towards Rick.

"Sweet," Shane said, dropping the metal poll and picking up the chainsaw. He revved it up, smiling to himself as he did so. "Give me five minutes, Rick, and then we can leave."

Rick watched as Shane sawed off the zombie's legs, watched their stumps dangle in the air, because they were still tied to the shelf. He went around in a circle, taking off their legs, covering the shed and himself in blood. Then he sawed off their arms.

"Their heads," Rick cried, "Their heads!"

He gritted his teeth at the pain of trying to yell over the noise. Shane was in his own little world, slowly taking off their arms. All the zombies remained almost passive during the whole thing, except for the smallest zombie. That one screamed as Shane cut its arms off.

Rick got up to his feet too quickly, the whole room spinning and he went down to the ground, landing against his shoulder. He screamed as the pain shot through me. The chainsaw stopped right away and Shane rushed over to him. "Rick?" he cried.

He reached out, realized his hands were covered in blood, and stopped. "Are you ok?"

"Stop it," Rick breathed deeply, tears brimming his eyes from the pain. "Stop torturing them, Shane. Please."

"Okay," Shane said softly. "Okay… I'll stop." Rick blinded and the tears fell from his eyes. Shane looked guilty, and very sympathetic. "I'm sorry," he said.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	3. Truth

A/N: First comment on this story by rickshaneforever! Yay! And that's such an awesome username, I love your stories! (To all you Rick/Shane fans, read together by rickshaneforever. It helped me through the end of the 2nd season!) You made me super happy. I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter, though it gets emotional towards the end.

CHAPTER 3

TRUTH

Shane finished quickly, just taking the zombie's heads off. Rick watched, still disturbed by the scene, but like a car crash he just couldn't look away. After the last one was 'killed' Shane took a step towards Rick. He was dripping with the blood of the walkers, the chainsaw still held in his hand. He let it drop to the floor. Rick jumped.

"Sorry," he said softly.

Rick just shook his head. "It's fine."

"I probably shouldn't track this through the house, though," Shane said, referring to the blood and entrails that covered him. "Can you stand?"

"Yes," Rick said. He pushed himself up to his feet.

"Good," Shane said softly. "Could you start the washing machine?"

Rick chuckled. "What are you going to do, jump in?"

"Maybe," Shane said, jokingly, but it felt more like flirting. He wiped the smile off his face when Rick turned around and made his way to the washing machine. He opened it up and after a few moments of trying to figure out how he got it to turn on. Water started pouring into the machine.

Shane stuck his hands in, getting them cleaned off before pulling his shirt off. He felt Rick's eyes on him as he loosened his belt and kicked off his shoes. He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and was grateful for the dimness in the room to hide the redness that reached his cheeks. He dropped his pants and stuffed it into the machine.

"Y – your socks too," Rick said.

Shane glanced at him. Rick was looking the other way, but his face was redder than Shane's. When Shane turned his attention to his socks he felt Rick's eyes on him again and he chuckled to himself. He dumped both his socks into the machine. He stood in only his underwear, a pair of black briefs.

"Have you been wearing the same clothes since we got here?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Shane said.

"So I guess I have too?" Rick asked.

Shane nodded, staring intensely into the washing machine. "Yep."

"Oh."

"W – well, except for your shirt," Shane said, looking at Rick. "I changed it when I changed your bandages."

"Should I throw my clothes in the wash too?" Rick asked.

Shane gulped. Could he handle Rick being in his underwear too? No, that wasn't the question, he realized, looking into Rick's eyes. Rick wasn't excited like he was; Rick was just trying to distract himself from the truth. He was avoiding it, and Shane honestly didn't mind, because he didn't want to be the one to tell Rick the bad news.

Shane nodded, happy that his heart was slowing down and it didn't excite him so much. The sexual tension he felt was ebbing down, which gave him room to think. The only reason why Rick was acting like he was into you was because anything was better than facing the truth, facing the fact that his wife and child were missing.

But it was eating him up, and Shane knew if they did anything – anything – Rick would regret it. And he didn't want that, strangely.

"Yeah, go ahead and throw your clothes in, I'll run and grab us something to wear." He left the room quickly as Rick began to strip himself. Shane couldn't do anything with Rick.

It would be wrong, wouldn't it?

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane shuffled through the drawers up stairs, finding some clothes for himself and Rick. He took a few moments to let these feelings he was feeling roll off of him. He didn't want Rick – not really, what he was feeling was a very strong friendship – no, companionship – in a very dangerous time, and he was also feeling very lonely. Yes, that was it. He understood his emotions now, and he could control them now.

Rick was feeling the same, but more so because Shane was taking care of him while he was injured. He probably felt like he owed Shane his life or something. That's why he had homosexual feelings during a very stressful time. He was probably trying to use Shane to replace his wife, whom he knows is gone, and just doesn't want to admit it to himself.

Shane took a deep breath in, leaning over the dresser, not wanting to deal with any of this. A month ago he would have never thought he would be struggling with sexual feelings towards his best friend, much less fighting a zombie apocalypse.

Shane freshened up in the bathroom and got dressed quickly. He went down stairs with a change of clothes for Rick. He could do this, he could do this… he could control his emotions and still take care of Rick. He reached the end of the stairs and hear a noise in the kitchen.

The sink was running. "Rick?" Shane called.

"In here," Rick replied.

Shane rounded the corner and Rick was standing in front of the sink, completely naked. Shane felt his heart start pumping at double the pace. He gulped. No he couldn't control himself, he thought, looking at Rick from the back.

Despite the bullet wound in his shoulder and the slight tremble in his knees, Rick was looking like normal. Shane would be lying if he didn't admit to checking out Rick's well defined muscles whenever they were naked in the locker room at the station. Shane distantly realized, as he flashed back on watching Rick in the shower, that these feelings weren't anything new to him.

He just didn't want to admit it.

Rick turned around, a wash cloth in his hand. He was blushing, probably like Shane was, but he managed to check eye contact with Shane. He looked down towards the cloth.

"Can you help me?" he asked.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck…_ Shane thought, feeling himself putting the clothes down on the counter and walking towards Rick, his heart racing a mile a minute. He stood in front of Rick, his hand finding Rick's to take the wet cloth from him. All he wanted to say was, _turn around._

But Rick got that funny look in his eyes that told Shane he might only be a replacement. He lowered the cloth and looked away from Rick.

"Shane?"

"I saw Lori and Carl before I came to save you," Shane said as gently as he could. "I knew you would have wanted me to make sure they were okay before I helped you, so I went to your place first, and…" Shane looked at Rick. "They're gone, man. I'm sorry."

Rick stared wide-eyed at Shane for a while. He pulled away from the man, and Shane felt his heart sink. _Only a replacement_, he reminded himself. _Don't get attached, because it's one-sided… _

"I'm sorry," Shane said again.

Rick moved past him, walking shakily to the bathroom. Shane heard the door slam shut and the screams that followed nearly broke Shane's heart. He'd rather have faced a whole horde of zombies then listen to the wails of despair coming from his best friend.

"I'm sorry," Shane whispered again.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	4. Comfort

CHAPTER 4

COMFORT

Rick lied on the cold tile that night, shaking from the pain. Not from his shoulder wound, which he'd reopened, but the emotional pain. He already knew it, from the moment he woke up, but it was still too hard to accept. Shane made it painfully clear. Rick couldn't avoid the truth anymore. He closed his eyes, relaxing against the hard floor, letting the dread and everything else sink in deeper.

He felt like it was hard to breathe. He couldn't lose them. Everything had been ripped from him. His entire life! Without them by his side, to struggle through this, to keep him going, what else did he have left?

The door opened and Shane was kneeling by his side. Rick looked up at the man, feeling so much at once. He saw the tear streaks on Shane's face, though the man was trying to hide it. Shane was crying with him. Strangely enough, that was comforting to Rick.

"Are you crying for Lori and Carl?" Rick asked.

"Yes," Shane whispered. "And for you."

Rick closed his eyes, not wanting to face the world anymore. "Stay with me?" he asked Shane, while lying naked and bleeding on the floor. Shane nodded once, reached outside the room to grab the shotgun he had propped up against the door. He lied down on the hard floor with Rick, staring up at the ceiling.

Rick moved closer, putting his head on Shane's shoulder. That's right, that's what he needed to calm himself. He closed his eyes, remembering in the past month of being stuck on that bed, he could always rely on Shane to be there. He knew he was safe, and let himself slip away.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Rick woke up on the mattress in the living room, with clothes on and his wound rebandaged. Shane was not in the bed with him, but sounds from the kitchen gave Rick the answer he needed. He got up and walked into the kitchen, seeing Shane at the stove.

"Hey," Shane said, noticing Rick. He turned away, giving Rick his full attention. "Good morning. How's your wound?"

Not how are you, how are you feeling, but how is your wound? Rick almost smiled if he didn't feel like smiling would hurt. He went over to one of the stools and sat down.

"My wound is fine," Rick said. "Is there any coffee in here?"

"No," Shane said. "Of course we get stuck in the house with the non-coffee drinkers, right?" He smiled, not expecting Rick to smile back, but just to lift the mood. He turned back to the food. "It'll be ready soon."

"Then what?" Rick asked. Shane tensed at the stove. With a sigh Rick looked away. "We can't stay here forever."

"Of course not," Shane said. He shook his head. "But there's walkers surrounding the place. I didn't want to try to leave until you were ready."

"I am ready," Rick said.

Shane turned off the flame and went for some bowls. He poured the stew into the two bowls. Rick didn't feel like eating when Shane placed a bowl down in front of him.

"I'm not hungry," Rick said.

"The hell you're not," Shane said. "You better lick that bowl clean. You need to get better and we don't know when our next meal will be."

"So we're leaving soon?" Rick said, reluctantly grabbing a spoon. Once he took the first spoonful he realized just how hungry he was. And beef stew had never tasted so fucking good before in his entire life. "Today?"

"No," Shane said. "Tomorrow."

"Okay," Rick said. He paused to finish chewing his mouthful. "I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Rick," Shane said.

"Yeah?"

Shane looked at him for a while. It was something he was having trouble saying. Something Rick probably didn't want to hear. So when Shane just shook his head and sighed, Rick also gave a sigh of relief. He drank down the rest of the stew and put the empty bowl down.

"Is there any more?" he asked.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane reloaded his shotgun and his pistol, he gathered the remaining food and filled bottles with water, all while Rick watched. He was pissed when Shane told him to save his energy, but Shane was probably right. He'd be better off keeping calm until he needed to kill some zombies. It would suck if he burned himself out just by moving some boxes.

"Is there anything I can do?" Rick asked. "Anything at all?"

"Not really," Shane said. "And besides, I'm almost done."

"Well give me something, anything," Rick said. "I just don't want to sit here with nothing to do, just because I'm wounded."

Shane glanced around. "Well – you can start a bath. I think it'll be nice to take advantage of the water while we still can, and who knows when the next time we'll get one?"

"The one upstairs is pretty big," Rick said, mostly to himself, but it was enough to make Shane pause, his eyes big. "Come up when you're done."

"Ok," Shane said softly. He normally had such conviction; it was almost funny to see him confused. Rick got up and went to get the bath started.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Rick found some towels and sat them down beside the tub. When it was full enough he added the appropriate amount of bubbles. He honestly hated it when Lori made a bath with more bubbles then water. He stripped down and climbed in, the warm reaching through his skin and soothing his tender bones. He closed his eyes and put his head against the wall.

A few minutes later Shane came into the room, with new clothes under his arm. Rick looked up at him. Shane just smiled, but Rick couldn't return it. Not yet, anyway.

"Is everything ready?" Rick asked.

"Yes," Shane said, putting the clothes down by the towel. He put the shotgun right next to the tub and pulled his shirt off. He started listing things down but Rick could hardly hear the words coming from Shane's mouth. Instead he watched as Shane unbuckled his belt, kicked off his shoes.

Rick struggled not to watch as Shane dropped his pants and underwear down to his ankles. He was so roughly handsome, Rick realized as he watched Shane come towards the tub. Rick had seen Shane naked loads of times before, but he never let his eyes linger.

"We need more bubbles," Shane said. He grabbed the container and dumped half of it in. Rick sat up, about to tell him there was more than enough bubbles, when he suddenly laughed. Who knew Shane likes his baths with more bubbles than water?

Shane looked shocked. "Are you… okay?"

"No," Rick said, shaking his head. He chuckled again and just as he thought, the tears started rolling down his cheeks after he finished laughing. He looked at Shane and sighed. "I'm not, Shane. I'm not."

"I'm sorry," Shane whispered.

"Don't apologize, just get in the damn tub," Rick said.

Shane nodded. He climbed into the warm water, sat down right next to Rick with a sigh, and he felt Rick automatically move over, pressing his body against Shane's, closing his eyes and relaxing. He was comfortable here, he decided. This calming place, where he spent a whole month recovering from a wound that should have killed him.

_This is right,_ Rick thought.

Shane lifted his arm, putting it around Rick's shoulders. His heart beat faster.

"You know, I thought this was wrong," Shane said softly, "But… it doesn't feel wrong."

"No," Rick said. "It doesn't."

"I have your back," Shane said. "You can trust me, Rick. I'll protect you with my life."

"Me too," Rick said. "You have my promise."

He lifted his head and was so close to Shane, he would barely have to move to kiss the other man. He stared into Shane's eyes, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to do this, trying to decide whether or not Shane would like it.

Before Rick could make up his mind on whether or not he wanted to kiss Shane, two walkers burst through the doorway. Rick jolted out of Shane's arms as the walkers headed straight towards the tub.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	5. Escape

Please forgive the mistakes. I really need a beta, if anyone is interested... in the meantime I'll comb through them when I can. When I read over my stories and find mistakes I try to fix them as soon as possible.

* * *

CHAPTER 5

ESCAPE

With only moments to react Shane leapt out of the tub, reaching for his shotgun as the first zombie grabbed him. He swung the gun, using the end of it like an axe to take the zombie's lower jaw clean off. The zombie let go of him as he turned the gun around and fired, taking the zombie's head off. He turned to the next one and did the same.

"How'd they get in?" Rick cried.

"I don't know, but get dressed quick," Shane said. "We might have to leave now."

He got out of the tub, Rick right behind him. He quickly pulled on his underwear, and a pair of jeans that were too tight and too short. He walked towards the door, his mind solely on keeping Rick safe, as Rick quickly got dressed. Shane had to ignore Rick's groans of pain from moving his arm too much.

"UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!" a walker cried as it rounded the corner. Shane fired, taking its head off, and Rick jolted. He grabbed the two shirts and ran to Shane. Together they quickly went down the staircase, Rick watching their backs for more zombies. Two more came up front. Shane took them out before he ran out of bullets.

"My pistol!" Shane cried. Why the hell didn't he also have his pistol in the bathroom? He was getting too damn comfortable – that would be a costly mistake. Might even cost him his life, or worse, Rick's. Shane ran to the counter with his pistol when he saw the problem. They'd broken down the door.

"To the garage!" Shane shouted at Rick, as he grabbed his pistol. "GO!"

Rick took off running, and Shane heard the jiggling in Rick's hands. Rick had known where the car keys were the entire time. Even while he was wounded Rick had still stayed sharp. That made Shane happy. He turned towards the door just as four walkers spilled into the house.

He turned around, knowing it was time to go, and started running. He hated leaving the supplies on the counter, but he'd just have to get some more later. He went into the garage and Rick already had the car started. Shane got into the passenger's seat.

"Maybe I should drive?" Shane said.

Rick threw it into reverse and stomped on the gas. The car revved up to 30 mph as it broke through the garage door and went shrieking into the street full of walkers. Shane cried out as they started rolling over the bodies. They could hear the moans coming from all directions.

"Go forward!" Shane cried.

Rick changed the gear and stomped on the pedal. The car bumped over all the corpses, blazing down the neighborhood, smashing walkers out of the way. The car bumped and jostled on the road, the entire frame groaning as Rick made sharp, tight turns in the neighbor and kept the car at 55 mph when they were driving straight.

"How do you get out of here?" Rick cried.

"Keep on going," Shane said, "Take a right at the end of this street."

The place was crawling with zombies. They were everywhere. Shane didn't know much about cars but he knew this one wasn't built like a monster truck. It could only crush so many zombies before it died out.

"The car is running funny," Rick said.

"They must have messed up something at the bottom," Shane said. "We can change the car out once we got out of here."

"What made you pick this area?" Rick asked.

He made the sharp turn, slamming on the braking, slamming into a bunch of zombies as he did so. The car made a whole second spin before righting itself, and they were facing the opposite direction. Rick put it in reverse and slammed on the pedal.

BAM, BAM, BAM, BOOM –

That was all Shane hear as Rick bashed into walkers that stood in the way. The car groaned as he kept driving backwards at high speeds. Shane had never been scared to be in a car with Rick driving until now. He mentally shook himself when he saw their turn coming up.

"There, that'll lead us out of here!" Shane cried.

Rick slammed on the brakes as they went past it. He put the car in drive, turned the wheel and stomped the pedal down. The car screeched as they pulled out of the neighborhood, onto the somewhat opened road. Rick dodged the abandoned cars with relative ease.

"What made you pick this area?" Rick asked again as he went to 80 mph. His inner speed demon came out of the opened road. Shane smiled to himself. He might have been scared but he trusted Rick with his life.

"It wasn't bad when I first brought you there," Shane explained. "Then a group of stupid people came into the neighborhood and brought the whole horde with them."

"Wow," Rick breathed.

"Yeah," Shane said. "It was awful."

"Did you help them?" Rick asked.

"Couldn't," Shane said. "They were killed before they had the house properly boarded off. Hell, it would have been suicide to help them. But you might have freed them from some pain, Rick. You ran over them, and not one of them got up."

"That's awful," Rick said.

"Maybe," Shane said. "Or maybe you gave them the rest they deserve but for some strange reason can't have."

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Rick drove to the station which was empty, which was fortunate. Both men slowly got out of the car, looking around for any signs of walkers. For the most part it seemed they were safe. The parking lot had a single car parked in the front of the station, but that was it. The person was probably eaten by walkers.

"We'll get all the weapons we'll need here," Shane said.

"And then what?" Rick asked.

Shane sighed. "One step at a time. How's your wound?"

Rick sighed. "I'll regret driving in the morning. But on the bright side, it's not bleeding. Just hurts like a bitch."

Shane smiled, moving to the other side of the car to lightly smack Rick on the shoulder that wasn't injured. "That's good."

"I could never thank you enough for saving me…" Rick said. Shane put his finger over his lips to silence Rick.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some stranger," Shane said softly. "I know you would have done the same for me."

"Of course, brother," Rick said.

Shane cringed at the word. That was not the right word, especially not after what happened in the tub. He knew Rick was still hurting – emotionally – but he knew Rick thought of him as more than that. Shane felt a flare of anger at the word.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

Shane grabbed him by the arms and pulled him in, pressing his lips against Rick's. This is all he wanted, for so long. Finally he was doing it, he was kissing Rick. He closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy the feeling. It was everything he dreamed it would be. Every touch, every longing, every desire all came up at once, and Shane poured it into the kiss.

Rick leaned back, breathless. "S – Shane!"

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Shane said, trying but failing to keep the smile off his face. He licked his lips, giving Rick a bashful smile. Rick couldn't stop himself from smiling too. He loved that expression Shane got.

He moved forward, putting his hands on Shane's chest. "I know," he said softly, "I have too." Shane moved in slowly for another kiss, but Rick lowered his head. "But… it's too soon, Shane… I'm sorry."

"That's fine," Shane said, wrapping his arms around Rick. "I understand. Just know that I'll be here when you are ready."

Rick closed his eyes and relaxed against Shane's body. This was his place of comfort. He was still sore about Lori, but being here almost numbed the pain. He missed her and Carl like crazy, but in this place of comfort he felt that one day the pain wouldn't hurt so much…

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	6. Station

CHAPTER 6

STATION

He'd loved it, every second of that kiss, and he couldn't wait for more. But Shane knew Rick was hurting, and he wasn't force himself onto Rick, no matter how great that kiss was. He and Rick went into the police station after a while, which was graciously unlocked, and set out to gather all the weapons they could.

"They're still here," Rick said when he noticed the nearly full gun rack. That wasn't good news for the police, who had no chance to use their weapons. The two men busied themselves with clearing out the rack of guns and stocking up on ammunition. Shane was painful aware of Rick's every move, every shift his body, every step her took, every sway of his hips…

"Shane?"

Shane turned away, his face flushed. "Nothing, I ain't said nothing."

"Shane."

This time Rick said it with some suppressed urgency. Shane turned around in time to see a man holding a shotgun, and pointing it right at Rick's face. Shane gritted his teeth, holding back every impulse that just told him to attack. If he wasn't fast enough Rick would pay the price.

"Hands up," said the man. "Both of you."

"Who are you?" Shane snapped as he and Rick raised their arms.

"None of your fucking business," the man spat. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"We're cops," Rick snapped. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"I'm new in these parts," the man said, he gun still held up. "Name's Morgan."

"Will you put your gun down, Morgan?" Rick asked.

"What's that?" Morgan said, nodding towards the slightest bit of bandage that was sticking out of Rick's shirt. Rick reached over, feeling around to understand what the man was talking about. "You're wounded. What happened?"

"Gunshot wound," Shane said.

"You're positive?" Morgan asked.

"Yes," Rick snapped. "Positive."

Morgan slowly lowered his weapon after that, and sighed. "That's how you become one of those things, by being bitten or scratched."

Rick and Shane exchanged glances. They didn't know that but they still avoided letting those creatures touch them or bite them at all costs. Rick forced a smile.

"Thanks for letting us know."

"No problem," Morgan said. "Sorry for being so paranoid. Can't be too careful nowadays, y'know?"

"Yeah," Shane chuckled. He didn't relax. This Morgan guy might be on their side, but he pointed a gun at Rick – that was unforgiveable. Shane took baby steps towards Rick, so he'd be closer to protect Rick from anything. "That's true. So what made you choose the police station?"

Morgan held up the shotgun. "These, really – where else would have a good supply of weapons that haven't already been raided, unlike Wal-Mart?"

"True," Rick said. "That was smart. And we're willing to share with you."

"Rick?" Shane hissed, smacking Rick on the shoulder. Rick cried out. "Oh, shit – I'm sorry, I forgot!" He put his hand on Rick's shoulder and Rick groaned.

"We can afford to share," said Rick.

Shane wanted to argue further, but he already hurt Rick enough. He gingerly rubbed Rick's shoulder, grimacing when Rick's expression became tense. He was trying to hide the fact that he was in pain.

"I won't need much," Morgan offered.

Shane glared at him. "No, you won't – being out there alone will kill you real fast."

"Shane!" Rick scolded.

"You're untrained, I can tell by the way you hold your gun," Shane said, nodding towards the shotgun in Morgan's hands. "You never have your finger over the trigger unless you have your target in sight and you're getting ready to shoot."

Flushing, Morgan removed his finger from the trigger.

Shane continued, "You won't last too long alone, thus we can't waste too much ammo on you. We know what we're doing, and we can make every bullet count."

Morgan scoffed. "I'm not totally worthless."

"Yeah, and he's not dead yet," Rick snapped. Shane looked at him with his eyebrows raised. Rick stepped out of his reach. "Don't write him off as dead yet."

"Rick…" Shane began.

"No, we'll give him a fair amount of guns and ammo," Rick said. "It's the right thing to do."

Shane looked down. He could disarm Morgan and kill him with his own gun – problem solved. So why didn't he? Because Rick wouldn't approve. He couldn't disappoint Rick. So he'd do as Rick said. He'd give this Morgan a fair share of the weapons, as wrong as it felt.

He looked at Rick. "Whatever you say," he said softly. Then he turned around and walked out of the room.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

A few hours later Shane came out of the back room. He'd been gathered whatever supplies he could from the station. Once he found the bandages he was grateful – Rick would need these. Morgan and Rick were sitting in the lobby, both with shotguns within arm's reach. Shane controlled his emotions as he looked Morgan up and down.

"Hey," he said to Rick. "I need to change your bandages."

"Oh," Rick said. "Okay." He sat up straight and slowly, carefully took his shirt off. Shane sat on the table in front of Rick and placed the bandages down. He watched as Rick finished taking his shirt off, and he took in every detail of Rick's naked chest.

The memories of their bath came to Shane's mind. He thought about the feel of Rick's naked body against his own. He laughed at all the doubts he had before. It felt right – it was right. He was in love with Rick and there was no denying it.

"It's gotten much better," Shane said, staring at the gunshot wound that was more than partially healed. He cleaned it up and started retying Rick's wounds. Up this close he found it hard to think about this except Rick's body. He just wanted to kiss Rick again, like he did before they went into the police station. He didn't want to wait around, especially when every day could be their last. But he would respect Rick's wishes.

"That's a nasty cut you got there," Morgan chuckled.

Rick's attention was torn from Shane's handiwork. Shane rolled his eyes, snapped out of his trance on Rick's body.

"Nearly killed me," said Rick.

"I'm glad you survived," Morgan said.

"Thanks."

"There," Shane said, finishing the wrapping.

"Good," Rick said, and then he suddenly yawned. He put his hand over his mouth. "Uh… sorry, long day," he said, looking at Morgan. Shane rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, me too," Morgan said. "Should we hit the sack?"

"Yeah," Shane said slowly. "Where are you sleeping?"

Rick scoffed. "Shane… Morgan and I found a nice place to spend the night. It's right down the road."

"You two left without telling me?" Shane shouted.

Morgan jolted, but Rick stayed calm. "Yes, we stepped outside for a few minutes. It's not a problem, Shane. I can take care of myself."

"You're hurt," Shane said.

"I was well enough to walk out there," Rick said. Shane shook his head. Rick gritted his teeth. "You don't have to worry so damn much, Shane, I'm perfectly fine –"

Shane grabbed him by the chin and kissed him again, long and hard. Rick was shocked by the sudden, aggressive kiss – so was Morgan. Shane didn't hold back as he kissed Rick forcefully. He made Rick's mouth open and brought his tongue in for a moment before pulling away.

"Don't leave without telling me again," Shane said.

"Of course," said Rick, though he didn't sound like he was paying attention. "Whatever you say…"

Shane couldn't help but smile when he saw Morgan's expression. So he was jealous of Rick's attention for Morgan, and Morgan's interest in Rick. Maybe he was being petty. But he couldn't help it – he was head over heels in love. The only thing that drove him was Rick, even if it made him a reckless driver.

Shane clapped his hands together. "Alrighty, so where's this house?"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	7. Gunshots

A/N: So many awesome reviews! Thanks so much guys, I should be studying right now but I need the break, and I don't want to let my readers down. ;-) Really, you guys encourage me to write and I'm ecstatic that all of you enjoy the story!

As a side note, Morgan isn't exactly his character in the show, but it's just because of small things like not knowing how to use a gun. Other than those details I'll try to make him more in character. And his wife and son were killed, so he's all alone.

CHAPTER 7

GUNSHOTS

Rick pressed himself against the wall, feeling the heated stares of the two men behind him. Shane, who he knew was in love with him, and Morgan, who was aching for companionship in the worst ways. Rick wasn't oblivious to Morgan's sexual advances, although he pretended to be. Maybe if he wasn't so crazy about Shane, but not now. Now he was all for Shane.

"See anything?" Shane asked.

Rick looked back at the two men. No one's ever fight over him before. It was flattering but now really wasn't the time, especially since he was still dealing with Lori's death, and his feelings for Shane. Rick just shook his head in response to Shane's question. He moved around the corner, gun first, and started walking.

The other two followed as Rick walked into the opened space. There were no zombies. He exited the police station grounds and started walking on the street. He went there almost every day. It was hard to see his hometown so deserted. But that was better than it being overrun with zombies.

"It's the blue house at the end," Rick said. The house itself wasn't blue, but it had bright blue trimming that stood out. Shane knew exactly which house they were going to. He continued looking around for any foreign movement.

"Nice job, finding this house," Morgan said wistfully, and he patted Rick's shoulder. His fingers lingered, brushing down Rick's shoulder blade slowly, and Rick looked over his shoulder. He didn't notice Morgan, he noticed Shane glaring at Morgan's hand. And the walker behind Shane.

"Shit – Shane!" Rick cried.

Shane whirled around as the zombie fell on him, opening its mouth to take a bite out of him. Rick took aim and fired without a second thought, blowing the walker's head to bits. The rest of the body slumped down, completely and finally dead. After the deafening sound there was only complete silence as Shane gathered himself. It was a little too quiet, Rick decided, but he didn't regret his actions.

"That was close," he muttered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shane said, brushing off the blood that spilled on him.

"Run," Morgan cried, shoving Rick towards the house.

"What?" Rick cried.

"The gunshot will attract them!" Morgan cried. "Loud noises attract them! Run, before they spot us!"

"Fuck!" Shane yelled, dashing towards the house. Rick and Morgan followed his lead, and as they reached the house they could hear the others coming. Shane threw the door opened and two rushed inside. Shane closed the door just as the first walker turned onto the street.

Rick watched from the window as the street slowly filled with a bunch of walkers. Shane finally pulled the curtain in place, putting his finger over his lips to tell Rick to be quiet. He then pointed towards the back of the house. Rick followed Shane and knew that while he watched the zombies Shane had familiarized himself with the layout of the house.

It was two story building. They decided it would be best to block up the exits and windows as best as they could and sleep down stairs, but close to the staircase just in case they had to make a quick getaway.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Shane said. "It's my fault you had to fire that gun. And now we're surrounded."

Rick shook his head. "Don't worry about it, it ain't your fault."

Shane nodded, looking away like he didn't believe Rick. Shane beat himself up a lot, and normally Rick could talk him out of it, but right now he couldn't. Right now as he could think about was being in the bathtub with Shane, kissing Shane, and a little about where he'd get his next meal from. In a couple hours he'd be more concerned about that.

"Maybe we should sleep now," Morgan said. "If we're quiet they won't bother us."

"Okay," Rick said softly.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Morgan was on his bed, his gun right beside him. He was turned away from Rick and was totally quiet. He'd been asleep for a while. Rick sat alone on his bed, watching Shane watch the walkers. As he stared at the muscles and curves of Shane's body his mind trailed off to Lori, and he felt awful for loving Shane as much as he did. During the many downs of his relationship with Lori he could always rely on Shane.

He reached up, feeling his lips with his fingertips. Kissing Shane was wonderful, it reminded him about what love really felt like. He missed being in love. He stopped feeling the love years ago. Lori just wouldn't give it to him, and slowly he forgot how amazing it could feel.

Shane reminded him with every touch. And even when they weren't touching Rick could feel it. Shane's jealousy, as unnecessary as it was, was comforting. It told Rick that Shane would fight for him, no matter what.

Suddenly there was something that sounded like gunshots in the distance. Rick was jolted out of his thoughts and Shane frantically looked out the window, but couldn't see anything. A few minutes later all was still, the zombies looking around in confusion.

"Other people?" Rick asked.

"Dead people…" Shane said. "The zombies are changing direction, moving towards the sound. Whoever fired that gun is in serious trouble."

"How long are you going to stay over there?" Rick asked.

Shane turned away from the window. He walked over to Rick slowly, kneeling down in front of the bed with his shotgun in his hand.

"Quiet, they're still right outside the door," Shane said. He smirked at Rick. "And I'm keeping guard. You should be asleep."

Rick looked away. He whispered, "I can't…"

"What?"

"I can't," Rick said. "I can't sleep… with you, Shane."

Shane gave him a sideways smile.

"I'm being serious," said Rick. "I just can't. When are you coming to bed?"

"I need to keep watch," Shane said softly.

"They're leaving. And besides, if we're quiet they won't bother us," Rick said, reaching out. His fingers brushed the front of Shane's shirt, not resting there but stroking Shane's chest, like Rick was both trying to pull away and maintain contain. Like he couldn't make up his mind what he wanted. "I…"

Shane put his hands over Rick's, letting his gun fall onto the bed. He pressed Rick's hands into his chest and closed his eyes, loving the closeness Rick's touch created. He opened his eyes and smiled at Rick.

"I can hardly focus when you're around," Shane said. "You… you distract me so much, Rick."

Shane leaned in closer, for a kiss, Rick knew it. He leaned back, but with his hands held firmly against Shane's chest he couldn't get too far away. Shane stopped moving in for a kiss, and instead looked at Rick's lips.

"It's Lori," said Rick.

"I know, you're still trying to get over the fact that she's dead," Shane murmured.

"No, I'm trying get over the fact that we fell out of love a long time ago," Rick said. "I'm trying to honor her life and the life of my son by taking my time with you."

Shane chuckled. "You're a good person, Rick. I love that about you."

_I love you, Shane,_ Rick thought, but for some reason he couldn't put it into words. It just wasn't time yet. He stopped trying to pull away and just relaxed, letting his hands settle against Shane's chest. He felt Shane's speedy heartbeat underneath his hands.

"I've known that she was gone since I got out of that hospital bed," Rick said. "I just… didn't want to accept it. But I knew. I'm not sure that I accept it now, that my wife and my baby boy are gone…" He squeezed Shane's chest. "When I'm with you I want it to be special. I don't want you to be a distraction from my sadness."

There was a knock at the door that made both the men pause. At first they thought it was a mistake, maybe a zombie getting too close to the door, but there was a second distinct set of knocks. Shane pulled away and stood up, the shotgun in his hands. Morgan sat up and Rick's face turned red – had Morgan been awake the entire time?

Shane waked slowly towards the door as the knocking continued. He reached the window and looked outside.

"Who is it?" Rick asked.

"A human," Shane said evenly. He closed the window. "There aren't any walkers out there, just this guy."

Rick and Morgan both got out of bed, arming themselves and heading towards the door. The man knocked once more.

"What does he want?" Rick asked.

Suddenly the back door was kicked opened and four men came into the house, gun pointed. Rick, Shane, and Morgan turned around as the windows were shattered and more armed men came into the house, weapons drawn. They were instantly outnumbered. Rick was the first to lower his gun.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the men snapped. "And what are you doin' in my house?"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	8. Adversaries

A/N: I'm really sorry for the long hiatus, I turn not to write series because I always end up going on hiatus at some point or another, and most of the time my series are left unended. I personally hate it when my favorite authors leave me hanging, so I'll try not to do it again! Really sorry!

CHAPTER 8

ADVERSARIES

Shane's heart beat wildly against his chest as he walked out into the street, the shotgun held out in front of him. All alone, the sun setting, and the walkers were coming, he knew it. He had to find it before the walkers found him. Rick's life depended on it.

Shane was hyper sensitive to the noises around him. He felt like he was surrounded. He constantly checked his surroundings and he moved quickly down the street. He could make it, he kept on telling himself. He could make it. He'd make it back to Rick.

Shane knew if he ran into any zombies he couldn't use the shotgun yet. He'd avoid using it at all costs, because as his captures said, if he returned with a horde of walkers they'd leave him outside. He had to do this quickly and smoothly, and get out before it got too bad. He had 30 minutes max before the world was plunged into total darkness and there was no return. He had to make his time count.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

30 Minutes Earlier:

Shane and Rick sat together in the darkness of the basement, Morgan sitting close by, still unconscious. Rick's arm was around Shane's shoulders, and Shane rested his head on Rick's shoulder. It was an awful circumstance, being captured by humans, but Rick still felt comfort sitting beside Shane in the total darkness.

"Do you think they'll kill us?" Rick asked.

Shane sighed softly, putting his hand on Rick's chest. He didn't want to answer Rick's question because he didn't want to know the answer himself. It would be awful to be killed by other human beings in this walker infested world, but that possible future was looking dimmer and dimmer. To make matters worse Shane didn't even get to sleep with Rick. He might die without ever sleeping with Rick! The thought chilled him to the bone.

"Don't think about it," Shane whispered, patting Rick's chest before sitting up and pulling away from Rick's embrace. He raised his arms and stretched. It was getting late, he could tell because it was around the time he'd usually wake up if he happened to be sleeping. The sun was being to set, if not already falling. The walkers would be 'waking up' for another night of prowling.

Rick's hand found Shane's back in the darkness, his fingers running over Shane's muscles while Shane stretched. Rick stopped just at Shane's lower back. Shane fought the urge to shudder. He didn't need to be thinking about sex right now, or how much Rick could turn him on with a simple touch.

"We need to find a way out of here," Shane whispered.

"Yes," Rick said. He reached over to Morgan – Shane heard the movements. "He's still unconscious."

"Damn," Shane said. "We need to look for a way out. Quick, search the walls for a window. Hell, a light gust – anything that will connect us to the outside world."

They moved around the barren basement, fumbling around in the darkness, searching for a way out of this prison. Neither could find anything. This was a true prison. The only way out seemed to be the doorway upstairs, from where the three were thrown down into their prison the day before. Shane had cut himself, but Morgan had hit himself in the darkness.

Suddenly there was light, both Shane and Rick paused in their search. They looked up and Morgan stood in the center of the room, looking worse for wear, more like a walker than a human, like they both did. The light created eerie shadows around him.

"Morgan, you're awake," Rick said to break the silence.

Morgan looked up at the doorway. "Do you hear that? They're coming."

Shane listened and it was true – he could hear the footsteps.

"Turn that light out," Shane said quickly. "Let's lie back down. Quick!"

The men moved quickly, Morgan turning out the light and the three lying down on the ground. Rick grunted as Morgan fell onto him. Shane gritted his teeth and kept himself from reacting. Now was not the time for that. The door opened and light turned on. Shane pretended to wake up.

"Get the hell up," one of the men said.

"What do you want from us?" Shane asked, getting up to his feet. Morgan and Rick stood behind him. "Why'd you have to force us down here?"

"Well there were too many walkers out to open the fucking doors, or would you rather that?" the man smirked.

"We've done nothing wrong," Rick said. "Let us go and we'll be on our way."

"See, here's the problem – that man knocking on the door last night? He was a friend of mine, and because you wouldn't let him inside he got eaten, so the way I see it you three are responsible for his death."

Shane shook his head, remembering the night clearly – the four men burst into the house, guns pointed, and they told the three to lower their weapons and get to the ground. By then the man outside was surrounded by walkers and eaten. They heard his screams but couldn't do anything to help him. After that five more men entered the house and the three were taken to the basement.

"If you want to point fingers than was your own damned fault," Shane said, thrusting his finger in the man's direction. "You're the one who burst into the house with your guns pointed at us – you were so busy yelling orders at us you didn't hear your friend outside until it was too late."

"If your house was filled with intruders you would have done the same," the man said, glaring down at Shane, absentmindedly stroking his gun with his fingers.

"Merle, let's just kill them and be done with it," one of the man said.

"Quiet," said the man. "My house, my rules. I'll decide on what to do with them."

"Well, are we gonna kill them?" asked another.

"Hold on," Merle said, the cogs turning in the back of his head. Then his face lit with a wicked smile. "I know exactly what I want from you."

"What?" asked Shane, giving Merle an uncertain look.

"Come up here," Merle said, and he backed out of the room. "And _only_ you. If your friends decide to join you then none of you will be leaving here alive. You do me a tiny favor and I'll forgive you for the death of my friend."

Shane watched Merle back out of the doorway with his minions, and suddenly it was completely empty and silent. Shane turned back to Rick, who was just shaking his head.

"I have to," Shane said.

"They'll kill us," Rick said.

"What's to stop them from doing it anyway?" Shane asked. "If I cooperate then maybe it won't be so bad in the long run."

"Fuck," Rick hissed, looking away. "I don't like this shit, Shane, not one bit."

"I don't either," Shane said, his voice heavy with emotion. He didn't kiss Rick like he wanted to, but instead pulled him into a tight hug. He put his hand on the back of Rick's head, Rick wrapped his arms around Shane. "Look for a way out. Escape if you can. Don't wait for me."

"Shane…"

"Don't," Shane said, pulling away, grabbing Rick by the arms. "Don't you dare wait around. They might kill us on impulse even if I do whatever it is he wants me to. Please… promise me, Rick."

"I promise," Rick said.

Shane nodded. He pulled away because if he stayed any longer he wouldn't want to leave. He went up the stairs, through the door, leaving Rick and Morgan alone down stairs. The door was shut behind Shane.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	9. Undertaking

CHAPTER 9

UNDERTAKING

Rick knew it was well past an hour – well past dark – since Shane had left, and he was still out there. After hearing the front door open and shut loudly, Rick could only guess that Shane had left the house. Why the hell would they send him out? Was he alone? Probably was. Rick felt around the wall in the poorly lit room, his heart racing. What if Shane didn't make it back alive?

His fingers moved over something cold and metal.

"Do you think he's coming back?" Morgan asked.

"Of course," Rick said without hesitation. Shane had to come back – he had to. Rick pushed the box out of his way and realized it was a window that was hidden by a box. It was small, but would be just big enough to slip through, if not for the metal bars in front of the glass.

"Well, I found a barred up fucking window," Rick said.

Morgan came over, squatting down right behind Rick. His midsection bumped against Rick's rear end suggestively, and Rick took in a deep breath to keep from saying anything. Instead he moved over.

"The bars are in the way," Rick said. "But I think I felt the screws keeping it in."

"Okay," Morgan said. "Let's look for something to _screw _with."

Rick rolled his eyes at the darkness. He moved away to the other side of the room to search for the screw driver, or anything that could help them escape. There were various boxes against the walls, but not much else. Hopefully they'd find something.

"I think I found something," Morgan said in a low voice.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

As he tried to turn around Morgan grabbed his hips, pushing him up against the wall. He pressed his midsection, now hard, against Rick's ass. Rick tried to push away from Morgan, but he was at an awkward angle, on his toes.

"Stop it," Rick snapped.

"It's been so long," Morgan said. "I'm not gay or anything, don't worry."

Rick pushed himself from against the wall and the two hit the ground. Morgan tried getting Rick in a headlock but Rick managed to slip away from him. He turned and as Morgan got up Rick punched him right in the face, making the other man fall over.

"Don't you dare," Rick warned. "I'm not a piece of ass you can relieve yourself with when there's a shortage of women."

"Why not? You're Shane's piece of ass. What's one more?"

"Shane and I haven't had sex before," Rick said. "And I'm no body's piece of ass, not even for Shane."

Morgan glowered at Rick. "Bullshit."

"No, it's not, but it doesn't matter if you believe me or not," Rick said. "What matters is if you touch me like that again I'll put my foot straight up your ass!"

"Fuck you," Morgan yelled.

"Fuck you too," Rick snapped.

Morgan went off to a corner, and Rick turned around, shaking his head. He hoped Shane came back soon. He wouldn't be able to put his guard down with Morgan around. He grudgingly broke into a box and started looking around for something to help him get out of this little hellhole.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane's heart raced as he walked towards the dark store. He was in the opened, walkers were everywhere, and he only had a shotgun with a limited amount of ammo. The Wal-Mart had closed down a while ago, but the doors were permanently opened. All the glass had been shattered, but it wasn't an invitation, it was a warning.

That was the last place Shane wanted to enter, but he had no choice. With the shotgun held before him he carefully treaded over the glass. There were zombies everywhere in here, he knew because Merle told him so. Going in here was like falling into a lion's den – only someone with a death wish would go.

He had to figure out how to get to the back of the store without being eaten. Far easier said than done.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

The door opened and Rick jumped away from the box. One man came down the stairs holding a single partially filled bowl of food. He put it down on the ground but Rick wasn't watching him, he was watching the other man standing in the doorway.

"Where's my friend?" Rick asked.

The man paused, glaring at Rick. "What does it matter to you? He ain't comin' back."

"Where is he?" Rick demanded.

"Merle sent him to save his brother Daryl from a Wal-Mart or some shit," the man said, his southern accent catching the word 'Wal-Mart' and dragging out each syllable.

"Why?"

"To save his brother Daryl or some shit, I dunno," the man said.

Rick scoffed. "Save his brother? This is ridiculous."

"I know, I don't need any savin'," the man said.

Rick stared at the man. "Wait a minute… that means you're…?"

"Merle's brother. Yeah," said the man. "Enjoy the food. It's all we could spare."

Rick watched the man walk up the stairs. He grabbed a handful of his hair and cried out. They sent Shane on a wild goose chase! How could they do this to him? He was going to die for no reason! Rick squatted down and tried to control himself, but he could hardly think. Shane was going to die out there, for nothing!

Morgan stared at Rick. "Are you okay?"

"NO!" Rick screamed at Morgan. He turned away, the tears suddenly tumbling down his face. Fuck, fuck, fuck… "Damn it! Damn it!" He started to sob. He couldn't even do anything to save Shane…

"Keep it down, will ya? You don't want them coming down here."

Rick turned around. Morgan was by the window, somehow unscrewing the nails. He looked pained, and was moving slowly, but it was working. The nail was slowly coming out.

"What is that?" Rick asked.

"A quarter," Morgan said. "It's been in my pocket this whole time. Just hang tight, I'll have us out of here right quick."

Rick breathed in deeply, wiping his tears away.

"Just do me a favor and save me some food?" Morgan said. "I'm fucking starving."

"You can have it all," Rick whispered, and smiled at the other man. "Thank you."

"Don't think me yet," Morgan said. He sighed. "And by the way… I'm sorry."

"All is forgiven, friend," Rick said. His heart raced as Morgan slowly unscrewed the bars keeping them inside the building.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

He crawled across the ground so the few crawlers in the building wouldn't notice him too quickly. Matches in hand, lighters in the other, he broke the little vials on the clothes and carpet. He took out the matches and let the flames do the rest. The fire slowly grew, and Shane stood behind it, behind the rakes of clothes.

The zombies emerged from what seemed to be everywhere, and upon noticing the fire began to stumble to the other side of the store, some even venturing out of the building. Shane backed up as more and more of the store went up into flames. He waited until a good number of zombies were out of his way.

Draping a burning shirt over the barrel of his gun he went to the back of the store. He encountered one zombie, and quickly tossed the shirt onto its face. The zombie fled, lighting things on fire as it stumbled away. Shane slipped into the back of the store. Funny, Merle said his brother had barred up the very back of the store, to keep the zombies out.

Shane walked into the dark room, shotgun held in front of himself. "Daryl? Are you in here, Daryl?"

Shane fumbled around for a light switch, and instead heard a walker's moan. He stumbled out of the back room, out of the door, and moments later walkers pushed through the doorway, seemingly hundreds of them pouring out of the room.

Shane turned around and the burning zombie crashed right into him.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	10. Pursued

A/N: I had to mix it up! Originally Daryl was _supposed_ to be trapped, and Shane had to save him, but everyone would have seen that one coming. ;-) I think I got a little ahead of myself though, it wasn't as surprising as it could have been. Don't worry, I'll work on that!

CHAPTER 10

PURSUED

Daryl went upstairs, closing the door behind him. He quickly made his way through the house, trying to move around all the men that were crammed into the building. Each one looked at Daryl like he was a piece of meat. He was probably a part of the minority of Merle's men that hadn't been raped – he could thank his brother for that.

Merle was upstairs in his room. He was on his bed, causally reading a book. The woman in his bed was turned onto her side, completely silent. In exchange for protection she gave Merle her body. Daryl was in no position to judge, but she looked so unhappy, he sometimes wished she'd just leave. She seemed more like a kicked puppy then a well-protected woman. Merle never abused her; it was all consensual.

"Merle, I – I need ta talk to you," Daryl said.

"Shouldn't you be in Wal-Mart?" Merle asked, and then laughed wickedly at his own joke. The figure in the bed beside him didn't move at all.

"No, uh…" Daryl was distracted. "Wal-Mart? Oh yeah, why'd you do that to that guy? He didn't do anything wrong."

"He killed my friend," Merle said.

"You let him die last night," Daryl said. "You said it was a relief, that you were just gonna kill his ass anyway."

Merle glared at Daryl. "Don't scold me, little brother."

"Shit," Daryl scoffed. "The two in the basement escaped. That's what I wanted to talk to you. But they left the bowl, which is good cause we're low on those…"

Merle threw his book at Daryl. "What the fuck do you mean they escaped?"

"Fuck man! They got through that window pa barred up," Daryl shrugged.

Merle jumped out of bed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Fuck, you were distracting me," Daryl said.

Merle growled at his brother as he grabbed his pistol. "You're a fucking idiot, Daryl," Merle said, shoving past Daryl.

"What's so important about them?" Daryl cried.

"They know where we live," Merle said. "That makes them dangerous enough. When they're hungry they'll come back to kill us. Did you ever think of that, you idiot?"

"That…" Daryl started. "We have more guns."

Merle rolled his eyes. "Don't fucking talk to me."

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane moved out of the way as the zombie fell over, its face melted underneath the flaming shirt. Shane was impression the shirt stayed on the zombie's face for so long. But he didn't dwell on the thought for long. The walkers were bursting out of the door, coming towards him, their hands extended.

Shane raised the gun, and thought better of it. He turned around and saw the fire had stopped moving, or at least was moving in the wrong direction, and the rest of the walkers were on their way. Shane turned and ran down an aisle. Maybe it wasn't too late to escape. He noticed the doorway and skidded to a stop.

The walkers crawled out from where the carts used to be, crowding the exit. Shane swore when they noticed them, and when he looked over his shoulder the rest of the zombies were on their way. Shane knew that even if he used his gun he didn't have enough bullets to take these walkers out. Not all of them.

He started running again, praying for another opening somewhere. Walkers burst further from the toys aisle, and Rick fired his gun in a moment of shock. Two zombies tumbled over, but the rest continued onwards.

"Fuck," Shane cried, until he noticed the bloody ax lying on the ground straight ahead. Finally, something that could help. He ran towards the ax, picking it up as the zombies came towards him.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Rick and Morgan moved quickly through the shadows, avoiding the walkers as best they could. They were weaponless, but much to Morgan's annoyance Rick wouldn't stop for any. He just wanted to get to Wal-Mart to help Shane before it was too late – before he was killed.

"What good are we going to be if we're defenseless?" Morgan yelled.

Rick slowed down. "Quiet, you'll call the walkers."

"Let's just find some weapons," Morgan said.

"Fine," Rick said. He glanced around, spotting a well-tended yard. He didn't have time to be amazed that the yard was still in good shape. He went to the fence, hopping over, Morgan following. Morgan heard the men behind them. He turned around, looking over the fence.

"Shit," he whispered.

"Here," Rick said, finding the shovels. "We can use these for now."

"Quick, we're being followed," Morgan said, grabbing a shovel. He leapt over the fence, Rick following. Now that Morgan had pointed it out he could hear the men following them. He started running beside Morgan. They didn't have guns, unlike Merle's lackeys. They couldn't be cornered or they would be sorely beaten.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane whirled around, chopping the walker's head clean off. He raised the shotgun and fired one handed, taking two down. It still wasn't enough, he realized as he swung the ax, taking two of the walkers down. He started running again and noticed the zombies were getting up. He was in such a rush he was missing their vital spot.

Shane came to a set of doors that were shut tight, leading to the garden center and wonderfully a way out. He used the ax to break through the glass and crawled through the small hole, careful not to cut himself. If he needed to hide he couldn't do it while bleeding. The walkers struggled to followed, cutting themselves as they clawed through the small hole he created.

Shane used the ax to kill them as they pushed themselves out of the hole. This way he had more control. He could kill them one at a time until there were none left if he had to. Another down and another, the heads rolled every which way.

A growl behind Shane made him realized he wasn't alone. He swung around, looping the walker's head. Ten more walkers were behind it, to take its place. More glass shattered from the doorway and more walkers poured into the room. Shane lifted the gun, blasting his way through the crowd of walkers until he was out of bullets. He used both the gun and the ax to get through the little crowd of zombies.

He saw the exit and ran towards freedom. Finally, he thought. He didn't save Merle's brother, but he was alive. As far as he could tell Merle's brother was turned a long time ago. Shane had no idea if he'd even been the one to give Merle's brother a real death. It didn't matter anymore. Now Shane needed to figure out of how to save Rick and Morgan without Merle's brother as a bargaining chip.

He walked through the opened doors covered in walker blood, both weapons in his hands. He started running towards Merle's house and slowed when he noticed the two men running towards him, black and white, with clothes he remembered.

"Rick?" Shane whispered. They got out? They were armed with shovels, but they were running from something. Shane groaned as he ran towards the two. "What happened?!"

"Run!" Rick cried. "Run!"

The gunshots behind the two made Shane realize they weren't alone. Behind them came Merle and his men. Shane paled at the sight. They didn't escape unnoticed. Shane ran towards them, grabbing Rick by the arm. He could only feel relief that Rick was here, alive, with him.

"Back into the store!" Shane cried.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	11. Eruption

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful comments! I love how into my story everyone is, it makes me so happy to write it. We're boiling down to the last few chapters, unfortunately. I'm considering making a sequel, but I'd like to close this part for now. With school starting up for me pretty soon that would probably be best not to leave you guys with a fucked up cliffhanger. :-/

CHAPTER 11

ERUPTION

A moment of happiness is all Rick could afford when he saw Shane's face. He couldn't even smile to show it. The gun was fired and he jolted, afraid that he was about to die. Whoever fired missed completely, to Rick's relief. Shane met them halfway, his hand finding Rick's arm. A moment of perfection amidst so much chaos – bloodthirsty walkers on one side, bloodthirsty humans on the other.

"Back into the store!" Shane cried, pulling Rick with him, and not wanting to let go. Finally together again, but this freedom may not be so long lasting. They went into the building, walkers circled from one part to chase Shane back into the store, gunshots firing as the men outside came to a stop.

There was only fire, at least that's all Rick saw at first. Then all he saw was a walker. He used the shovel to bash it over, and then chopped its head off with the end of the shovel. Shane had his ax up, waiting at the entrance for man or walker. And Morgan was frantically looking around while pushing around a cart.

"This is not the time for shopping," Shane said.

"Not that," Morgan said. He spotted whatever he was looking for a few aisles down and disappeared. "Shane, gather some of those clothes that are on fire and throw them in this cart!"

"Why?"

Morgan came out with several propane tanks in the cart. Shane rushed to gather some clothes, and threw them in. Morgan turned the cart towards the entrance and started running with it, plowing through zombies as he did. He reached the entrance and let go, giving it a firm kick to send it on its way outside. There were several moments and two random gunshots before the explosion occurred.

Rick tackled Shane, shielding him from the blast, Morgan diving away from the entrance of the store and the zombie parts were blasted everywhere, filling the place with blood and plenty of guts. The screams outside told them their pursuers were down.

"Run," Shane said, helping Rick up. They helped Morgan up and all ran to the back of the store, finding an exit to flee through. They didn't look back as they ran. They needed to get away, fast, in case some of Merle's men were seeking revenge.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

They found a seemingly walker free neighborhood. They entered the house and explored the whole place, checking for walkers, before barring it up and sealing off all the doors and windows. It was a one story home, and a family of five used to live there. Rick couldn't help but absorb those details as he looked at the pictures of the three girls with their parents on the walls.

"Are you almost done?" Shane said, a pile wood from the kitchen chairs in one hand and a hammer and a handful of nails in the other. Rick jumped, taking up his own supplies and sealing off parts of the house. They had to be careful on which ones they closed down and which ones they kept opened. They didn't want anything to get in, but they also wanted a way out.

Rick hadn't had so much as a kiss or a hug since he was reunited with Shane at the store. He just wanted to drop everything and go to Shane, but he needed to focus on survival first. He quickly put up the boards, almost counting the minutes until he'd see Shane.

And then suddenly Shane was there, turning him around, making him drop everything, and he was kissing Rick deeply, his hands on Rick's body, holding onto him, moaning at the sensation of him, pressing him against the wall. Rick clung to Shane and kissed him back just as hardily, putting his tongue in the other man's mouth, the two groaning together.

Shane broke the kiss, but stayed pressed against Rick's body, and Rick felt his was ready for anything. Rick realized he wanted nothing more than to do what Shane's being longing for, for so long now. He rested his forehead against Shane's. Tonight he'd do it; he'd have sex with Shane.

He cupped Shane's face in his hands. "I love you."

"I love you too," Shane whispered.

"I thought you were gone forever," Rick said.

Shane laughed. "You think a few walkers would keep me from you? No fucking way, man. I won't let them take me down."

Shane's hand moved down Rick's body, caressing him until he reached Rick's hips. He held onto them as he pressed himself against Rick. Both were ready, and both could feel it. Why not do it right now? Rick leaned in, gently kissing Shane's lips.

Rick opened his eyes for a moment and saw Morgan standing at the end of the hall, watching. He frozen, remembering the conversation they had. Shane was kissing Rick's neck but Rick shook his head, pulling away. "Please… stop. Shane."

Shane pulled away slightly. "Really?"

"Morgan's here," Rick whispered.

"So?"

"Morgan's watching…" Rick whispered.

"So?"

"Morgan… is jealous," Rick whispered, looking Shane in the eyes. "We talked about this, he wanted sex too. And although I'm not sharing myself or you, it wouldn't be right to do this in front of him."

"Always about what's right," Shane said, reaching around to cup Rick's butt in his hands. He pressed their groins together. "Let's just do what the fuck we want. Rick, I _want_ you."

It was a need, Rick could see. A physical need, so raw in Shane's eyes, and Rick almost couldn't resist. Almost. He patted Shane's shoulder before pulling away. Shane stayed facing the wall a moment to get control of himself before turning around. The thought crossed his mind – he almost wanted to kill Morgan. But he wouldn't do that.

Rick looked at Morgan. "Maybe we'll find someone for you too."

"I'm not gay," Morgan sighed, though his eyes lingered on Rick's hard-on before turning around and walking away, leaving Rick alone.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

The night was a cold one. Shane had the first watch, and Rick stayed in bed alone, listening to the silence. A few minutes later Morgan passed by the opened door, glancing at Rick before moving on. Shane came to the room a few minutes later, pausing at the doorway to look at Rick.

"Are you coming to bed?" Rick asked.

"Yes," Shane said softly. "But not to sleep."

Rick gulped softly. "I was hoping not."

Shane took a step into the room, but he remained at the doorway. "You know I'd never hurt you, right?"

Rick nodded.

"But we can't stop… I've been waiting too long for this, and if you try to stop me… I don't think I can hold back anymore, Rick. I can't look at you, hold you, and not have you anymore, I…"

"I love you," Rick said, interrupting Shane. "Now shut the door and get your ass over here."

Shane smiled, pulling his shirt off and shutting the door.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	12. Consummation

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the awesome comments! It sucks I have to end the series soon… but with school, work and all it's just not gonna be updated. :-( But I'm really glad everyone is enjoying it, it makes me super happy. Maybe I'll do a spin off series in the near future. And I will sneak in my random one-shots still…

CHAPTER 12

CONSUMMATION

Daryl moved through the crowd of zombies, the men behind him attacking back, keeping them at bay. The carnage in front of the store would have been awful, if the horde of walkers hadn't already begun the cleanup. There had been an explosion, and Merle's men had been taken down by it. Daryl only saw various body parts lying around.

"Merle?" he screamed. "Merle?" he looked around frantically for his brother, but didn't see the man anywhere. A walker looked up at him, suddenly interested. It rushed him, as quick as a walker could. Daryl hardly looked as he raised his crossbow and fired, the arrow moving through the walker's head and coming out the other side. The corpse fell to the ground.

"Where the fuck is my brother?" Daryl snapped at one of his teammates.

"I don't know," the man cried. "But we need to get the hell out of here, there's walkers everywhere."

"We ain't leavin' til I find my brother," Daryl said. He turned around. "Merle! Merle, where are you!"

"Daryl," someone called. Daryl looked at the man. "Look at this."

Daryl rushed over to the man, who pointed to something on the ground. It was a hand – and only a hand – with a bracelet Merle had received from his last girlfriend, before she turned. Daryl turned away from the hand, the tears filling his eyes.

"Merle," he cried. "Where the _fuck_ are you!"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

_"I can hardly focus when you're around," Shane said. "You… you distract me so much, Rick."_

_Shane leaned in closer, for a kiss, Rick knew it. He leaned back, but with his hands held firmly against Shane's chest he couldn't get too far away. Shane stopped moving in for a kiss, and instead looked at Rick's lips. _

_"It's Lori," said Rick. _

_"I know, you're still trying to get over the fact that she's dead," Shane murmured. _

_"No, I'm trying get over the fact that we fell out of love a long time ago," Rick said. "I'm trying to honor her life and the life of my son by taking my time with you."_

_Shane chuckled. "You're a good person, Rick. I love that about you."_

I love you, Shane,_ Rick thought, but for some reason he couldn't put it into words. It just wasn't time yet. He stopped trying to pull away and just relaxed, letting his hands settle against Shane's chest. He felt Shane's speedy heartbeat underneath his hands. _

Finally he said it, and now it was so easy to say. Rick watched Shane as he entered the dark room, shirt in hand; all the running and zombie killing making his abs stand out like never before. Rick took in every muscle, every curve, every of bit masculinity and did his best not to leap out of the bed. Instead he threw the covers back, revealing that he had already rid himself of his jeans before getting into bed.

He slowly unbuttoned his shirt, slipping it off so he was only wearing a wife beater with his boxer briefs. Shane let the shirt fall to the ground, and reached for the button on his jeans. He shivered, seeing that stiff cock still hidden by Rick's underwear. He unzipped his pants and kicked his shoes off. Rick grabbed the ends of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it aside.

"I… I'm so horny, so excited, I can hardly move…" Shane said.

"Don't hold back," Rick whispered, lying down, his eyes never leaving Shane's.

"I don't want to hurt you," Shane whispered.

"You won't," Rick said, his hands moving over his chest, rubbing his own nipples, before caressing his flat stomach and going down his happy trail. "Now get your ass…" he moved his hands over his erection, "over here."

Shane was on him, kissing him like never before. Rick realized he'd opened the floodgates. He felt Shane open his mouth, felt Shane's tongue, felt Shane's hands moving up and down his upper body. They were pressed together, Shane's hips rocking against Rick's, grinding almost painfully. Rick suddenly fully understood why Shane was afraid of letting go. Rick smiled as he kissed Shane back. He could handle it.

Shane reached down, his hands slipping into the back of Rick's underwear, cupping his ass. The two moaned as Shane squeezed it, and ground his hips against Rick. It was amazing, it was everything they'd been waiting for. Rick broke the kiss, nipping at Shane's neck as he started to peel Shane's jeans off. Shane clenched both hands into fists and tore through Rick's underwear, making Rick jump.

Shane cupped Rick's balls in his hands, each calloused finger feeling like a slice of heaven as he rubbed the sack. His other hand came down, rubbing the hard shaft, making Rick shiver. Shane gripped it together, squeezing it, and Rick moaned deeply.

"Stop – I'll cum too soon," Rick groaned.

Shane managed to kick his jeans all the way off. He laid on Rick's body, the only thing separating them was Shane's underwear. He moved his groin against Rick's, both moaning deeply.

"It's been so long… and you're so hot…" Shane groaned. "I just want to fuck you until the lights come up, and then do it all over again. I love you, Rick, and I never want to stop touching you…" Shane reached into the pocket of his jeans and fished something out.

"What's…" Rick began.

Shane brought his hand back, and his wet fingers brushed over Rick's hole. Rick moaned again, long and drawn out, and he held onto Shane's body. It was so hot – so much – and all Rick wanted to feel was Shane's body against his own. One finger was thrust into Rick suddenly. Shane was in a rough hurry to fuck Rick before they both came.

"Lube," Shane whispered, moving his finger back and forth slowly, making Rick cry out and twist around. "Even while running from walkers you were still first on my mind."

"And sex," Rick growled, before pulling Shane down for a kiss. He felt another finger enter him as he kissed Shane's mouth. It was the most passionate love making Rick had ever had. He was feeling so many things at once, he could hardly control his raging emotions. Shane broke the kiss, sitting up, getting onto his knees. He put his fingers on the edges of his underwear.

He pulled them down, his cock bouncing out. Rick came forth, eagerly stroking Shane's cock. The other man shuddered as Rick caressed it. He moaned deeply, loving the sensations.

"Don't play with me too much, I have the sexual stamina of a teenager," he said.

Rick smirked. "Then how will you handle this?"

He started at the base and ran his tongue over the throbbing member, Shane crying out as he did so. He got all the way down to the tip and then took it into his mouth, sucking on it. Shane nearly screamed, and only months of watching out for walkers kept him silent. Instead he grabbed Rick's head and thrust his hips, filling Rick's mouth with his manhood. Shane withdrew, only to give anything big thrust with his hips.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Shane cried.

Rick breathed through his nose, careful to keep his teeth back. As roughly as Shane handled him, when he pulled back Shane didn't resist. Shane's cock was wet and dripping, and Rick went under, licking at his balls, tickling them with his tongue. Pre-cum dripped out of Shane's cock.

"I can hardly stand it," Shane cried. "Stop, please…"

Rick leaned back, licking his own lips. Shane shoved him onto his back, climbing on top of him, grabbing his head and kissing him deeply, loving it when Rick kissed back with just as much enthusiasm. He positioned himself between Rick's legs, his wet cock at Rick's hole.

"God, I love you," Shane whispered against Rick's lips, "I love you so fucking much…" He thrust into Rick, filling the man beneath him with his cock. "I love you!"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…


	13. Climax

A/N: Sex scene continues:

CHAPTER 13

CLIMAX

Rick closed his eyes as Shane slowly eased into him, inch by inch, and when he was fully inside Shane kissed Rick's lips, frozen in that perfect position. Rick kissed him back just as forcefully, though partly distracted now with a new, nearly overpowering sensation. Shane used only his hips, thrusting while even pulling out. Rick bit his lip to keep from screaming out loud.

Shane pulled again, now more comfortable with his position, and started a bigger thrust, pulling out more and thrusting in harder, making Rick and the entire bed rock with each powerful thrust. His hands went on either side of Rick's head, and he stared down at the handsome man as he thrust into him, filling him up. His love for Rick made the sex that much sweeter.

Rick closed his eyes as the thrusts became harder, dancing on the edge of almost painful. He gave a long exhale and Shane leaned over, nuzzling the side of his face.

"Look at me," he whispered, "I want you to watch me, Rick."

Rick's eyes snapped opened. He looked up at Shane, his entire face flushed, and he nodded. He groaned as the thrusts became even harder, and he put his hands on Shane's stomach on slow him down. Shane did, until it was pleasant again. All the while he stared into Rick's eyes. How could someone be so damned handsome, he could only wonder.

"Say… my name," Shane said.

"Shane," Rick grunted, as Shane thrust into him. "Shane…"

"God…" Shane cried, the pleasure building, being stronger, almost unbearable. He closed his eyes, his entire body shuddering as he continued. His climax was near. He reached down with one hand and stroked Rick's cock gently before taking it firmly into his hand and jerking it from base to tip in a rhythm that matched his thrusts.

"Fuck," Rick cried.

"Come with me," Shane said, feeling like he was about to explode from the pleasure of it all. He closed his eyes. Could he possibly love Rick any more than he did in this moment? "Tell me you love me…"

"I love you!" Rick cried, his cock twitching under Shane's hand.

He cried out as he came, the pleasure rushing through him, making his body jolt, the come covering his chest. Shane came a moment later, his thrusts going from long to short and quick. He came a lot, pressed himself into Rick as closely as he could.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane was still breathing hard, his head resting on Rick's chest. Rick rubbed his hand up and down Shane's bicep, just recovering from the sex they just had. He managed to catch his breath before Shane did, but he didn't do quite as much work. He kissed the top of Shane's head.

"You are very vocal," Rick said.

"It's it a bad thing?" Shane asked, his fingers moving up and down Rick's thigh.

"Not at all, I like it," Rick said.

"Next time will be better," Shane said. "We'll last longer."

"The first time was pretty good too," Rick laughed.

Shane lifted his head, putting his chin on Rick's chest. "You ain't into that kinky shit, are you?"

"Well, I wouldn't know, I've never had the chance to try," Rick said.

Shane gave him a mischievous smile.

"What?" Rick laughed. "What?"

"Nothing," Shane said. "Just… when I became a cop I used my handcuffs on more than just arrests."

Rick's eyes widened.

Shane looked at the clock and sighed. "Morgan will be coming back soon."

"My watch," Rick said. He started to get up but Shane put his full weight on Rick, not allowing him to get up. Rick laughed, trying to push Shane off, but the man wouldn't budge. "Damn you, I have to go!"

"I don't want you to," Shane said, but he allowed Rick to get up. He turned over on the bed to watch Rick walk around naked, slowly gathering his clothes. When Rick looked at Shane's expression he almost covered himself. Shane looked like a kid in the candy store. They glee on his face could only be described as adorable.

"Enjoying the view?" Rick asked.

"Always," Shane said, with a double meaning. Rick flashed back to when they'd shower together or be changing clothes in the locker room. He blushed a deep red, glad that the feeling was mutual, even back then. Just as Shane snuck looks, Rick did the same.

Rick held up his torn pair of underwear.

"Sorry," Shane said. "I know how hard it is to find clothes that fit…"

Rick shrugged. "I'll work with it."

"We'll find some for you tomorrow, promise."

Rick went to the dresser in the room and peeked in. "I can use these," he said, lifting the underwear out of the drawer. It was white briefs, and Shane frowned at them.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't like those," he said.

"Well, it's your own damn fault," Rick laughed, throwing the torn underwear at Shane. He pulled the briefs on and Shane sighed. As much as he loved watching Rick dress, it was always slightly disappointing. He'd much rather watch Rick _undress_.

Rick had the wife beater and jeans on. He pulled his button down shirt on but left it undone. He grabbed the shovel by the bed.

"What we really need is guns…" he said, his mind slowly moving from sex to survival. Shane, still naked on the bed, grabbed his leg and pulled him over. Shane got onto his knees on the bed, looking up at Rick.

He kissed Rick on the lips, enjoying the moment, enjoying how it never got old, no matter how many times they kissed. He leaned back and Rick grabbed the back of his head, pulling him back for some more.

There was a light knock at the door and the two looked up. Morgan stood there, his eyes falling to Shane's naked body, on his knees on the bed. He gasped at the sight, and Rick felt oddly jealous. He didn't move, just looked at Morgan.

"Your turn for the watch," Morgan said.

Rick nodded. He stroked Shane's face as he walked towards the doorway. Shane turned over, lying back on the bed. Morgan could hardly tear his eyes off of Shane's body. Rick could hardly keep himself from shutting the bedroom door on Morgan's face, but he wasn't that childish. Besides, if he knew anything he knew Shane was his.

He went to the front of the house, peeking out of the window. There were one or two walkers, but that was it. Rick decided it was going to be a quiet, peaceful night. Or as peaceful as this world could be. When he heard Morgan coming from down the hall he knew it wasn't going to be so peaceful.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Rick said slowly.

"Ain't tired," Morgan said, taking a seat. He looked at Rick with accusing eyes. Rick wasn't ready for this conversation, whatever it may be about. "I see you didn't get much sleep either."

Rick shrugged, his thoughts going back to Shane lying naked on that bed. "Nope, I didn't."

Morgan sighed, smacking his hands on his thighs and rubbing them like he was cold. "Well, I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll just say it. Tomorrow morning when we all get up you and Shane will go one way. I've decided to go another."

Rick frowned. "Are… are you sure about that?"

"I'm not a third wheel."

"Fuck man, it's not about feelings, it's about survival!" Rick cried. "Shane and I being together doesn't affect our survival, Morgan. Who knows, we might even come across someone for you."

"It's more than that…" Morgan said. "I just… I lost my wife and child. Seeing you too happy…"

"Makes you jealous?" Rick asked, with no accusation in his voice. Morgan nodded slowly. "I know the feeling. I've lost exactly the same. Shane has been there for me the entire time. We've felt this way… even before we lost what we did. It's just…"

"I don't want to die," Morgan said. Rick began to shake his head, the anger rising as Morgan continued speaking. "I know that when it comes down to it, you guys have each other. And I'm just on my own."

"You got us out of that basement," Rick said, pointing his finger. "You set that bomb off and saved us. You're not on your own. You're a valuable member of a great team. Don't threaten to leave just because you're really horny and have no one to screw. That can be fixed. Being on your own won't do anything except put you in more danger."

Morgan sighed.

"Just… think about it," Rick said. "But don't believe that shit. And don't think I won't risk me life for you just because I haven't slept with you, because I would in a heartbeat, Morgan."

Morgan sighed, looking away from Rick.

"Sleep on it," Rick said. "But don't leave just because you have no one to screw. We don't want you to leave."

Morgan stood up. "Okay. I'll think about it."

"Good," said Rick.

"But no promises."

"Wouldn't believe you if you did," Rick said.

Morgan went to the hall, pausing, and turning around. "How was it?"

"How was what?"

"Sleeping… with another man," Morgan said. "I've never done it before, so…"

"It was the best sex ever," Rick said. "Sometimes the body doesn't matter, just the feelings that you have for the other person."

The shattering window made Rick jump. Right in between the boards on the window was a little hole, the size of a thick bullet. Rick was frozen with fear. The men had caught up with them. They were here to kill them. Rick jumped up.

"Quick, we have to get the fuck out of here!" Rick cried to Morgan. "Now!"

Morgan didn't move. Rick looked at the man, and it took a moment to realized that there was an arrow sticking through Morgan's head, pinning his corpse to the wall.

"What the fuck?" Shane cried, looking out the bedroom door.

"Put on some pants, and let's go," Rick roared.

The door was kicked opened and Daryl stomped into the room, crossbow in hand. He pointed it right at Rick.

"Where the fuck is my brother?" he hissed.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…

A/N: I put the author's note at the end, because it would have been ignored at the beginning! :-) Also, I wanted to talk about the ending. I hated killing Morgan; I love his character, I hated when he never showed up on the show. I didn't want his death to happen, I wanted him to find happiness. But as I was writing the story took control (as most of you understand) and that fucking arrow did him in. In case you were wondering, if Morgan wasn't killed he would have continued on with Rick and Shane. :-(

Next chapter is the last chapter by the way!


	14. Chaos (Part 1)

A/N: _Almost _the last chapter, though it was but it turned out that it wasn't, hopefully I can do a spinoff soon. Tomorrow is my first day! If my schedule isn't too bad maybe I can continue writing. It's been real. But seriously, thanks for the awesome comments, you guys really got me through this. I've had a lot of fun writing about my favorite pair. I'll have to do more stories about them.

CHAPTER 14

CHAOS (Part 1)

"Stop!" Rick cried as Daryl raised the crossbow. More men entered the room, guns drawn, but Daryl was the most dangerous one here. His eyes were wild and full of hate, spouting stuff about his missing brother. Rick moved quickly, shoving Shane into the room as the guns fired. An arrow appeared in the wall behind Rick before he shut the door.

"Window," he said, rushing over and quickly tearing the wood off. Shane took a moment to put on some underwear and shoes, but that was all the time he could take. He grabbed the shotgun as the door was blasted with quickly pulled the pieces of wood away from the window.

"Morgan –," Shane began.

"Gone," Rick said, grunting as he ripped the last piece of wood away. The gunshots continued, destroying the bed. Shane pushed Rick through the window, jumping through himself. He cussed when he hit the grass filled ground while basically naked.

"Come on," Rick cried, pulling Shane with him. They rounded the corner and there was a man with a pistol. Both men ducked down and Shane fired without a moment's hesitation. The man flew backwards, hitting the ground.

"His gun," Shane said.

Rick nodded, running for the discarded gun. He grabbed it and an arrow whizzed past his head, nearly killing him like Morgan was killed. He ran as Daryl came out of the house.

"I want my brother!" he screamed.

Rick nearly collided into Shane and they went behind the house. They hopped together, as the backdoor was kicked opened and the men came out firing their weapons. Shane cried out when the hit the ground again. Rick pulled himself up to his feet and raised his gun at the fence. _No, don't waste them,_ he thought, and instead helped Shane up.

"Come on!" he cried, pointing at the gate on the other side of the yard. They ran quickly, dodging the random toys and other backyard accessories. The sound of the other men climbing the fence filled their ears. Rick didn't bother with latched and such – he rammed into the fence, reducing it to a pile of wood.

Then they noticed the walkers in the street, coming towards them.

"The gun shots attracted them," Rick gasped.

"We need… to find cover," Shane said.

A man burst out from the bushes, screaming. Rick pushed Shane behind the cover of a tree. Instead of hitting them, the bullets went out to the walkers. Rick motioned for Shane to follow, who sluggishly followed. They ran down the street, the walkers turning direction to follow them.

"Shit," Rick whispered, raising his gun and blowing the closest walker in the face. They were being cornered by man and walker. Rick pushed Shane back towards the house behind them.

"In here," Rick said.

"Okay," Shane breathed deeply. "You go first."

"Okay," Rick said, having no time to argue. He tried the door and it was locked. He kicked it once and it hardly budged. He kicked it again, and a third time, but still no luck. Shane opened fire on the surrounding walkers, the men rounding the corner to face the building.

"Rick!" Shane cried.

Daryl rounded the corner, raising his crossbow. Shane turned and slammed himself into the door as Rick kicked it and the two took the door down – and fell over with it. Shane cried out again, and Rick was beginning to realize this behavior was very un-Shane-like.

"Where you hit?" Rick cried. He didn't need to ask, it wasn't that hard to tell with Shane being practically naked. The bullet wound was on his side, the bullet logged just right so he didn't let off too much blood. But enough to attract all the walkers to the house.

"Fuck!" Rick cried.

"Run," Shane said.

He fired the shotgun as a walker tried entering the house. Rick got up, helping Shane up, and they backed into the house, the walkers filing in. Rick looked around quickly. Going upstairs was a no-no, but everywhere else was bad. He noticed the opened door at the end of the hall, near the backdoor. He noticed the rack on the wall in that room.

"This way," he said, pulling Shane along. He let Shane go into the room first and ran behind him, snatching up the car keys from the rack on the wall. The backdoor opened behind them, but Rick ignored it.

Shane grunted as the bullet fell out of his skin. The wound was shallow but it started bleeding heavily. He put his hand over the wound.

The garage! Rick looked at the nearly brand-new car and nearly smiled to himself. Despite the circumstances maybe he would have, if Shane hadn't been shot. They climbed into the car, Rick taking the driver's seat. The garage door closed and Daryl came into the room, crossbow aimed at Rick.

"Fuck," Rick cried.

"Don't start that car! Where's my brother?" Daryl screamed.

"I don't know!" Rick screamed. Shane sank down on the seat, taking the keys from Rick.

"We have to do this in a second," Shane said.

Rick nodded causally.

"Get out of the car!" Daryl yelled.

"Now," Shane said.

He pushed the keys into the ignition – Shane put his foot on the petal and put the car in reverse – the car came to life and drove backwards, destroying the garage door, exposing the room to the walkers outside. Zombies came towards Daryl and he moved quickly through them, knocking them out of the way as Rick pulled out into the street. Daryl reached the car as Rick put it into drive, and dove.

Daryl pulled himself to the top of the car, holding onto the railing. He looked back and saw his entire team being overtaken by the walkers. He heard their screams. Some of their last words was his name.

"He's on top of the car," Rick said.

Shane moaned, pressed the barrel of the gun to the roof of the car. He fired once, twice, and then the gun was empty. Rick swore deeply – they didn't see Daryl tumble down the back of the car. Rick gasped when he noticed the rope come into view suddenly – Daryl was tying himself to the car?

"This is fucking ridiculous," Rick cried.

There was no response.

"Shane?" Rick cried. "Shane!"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Continued…

A/N: Okay, maybe not the last chapter. The next chapter will probably be the last chapter!


	15. Chaos (Part 2)

A/N: Last chapter turned into two chapters! Yay to bonus chapters! It just turned into too much, I couldn't stop it! I guess that's my body's way of telling me it doesn't want to end the story yet.

CHAPTER 15

CHAOS (Part 2)

"Shane!"

Rick looked at Shane's limp body, clothed only with a bloody pair of underwear and shoes without socks. The shotgun lay across his chest, empty of bullets. He reached out, his hand falling over Shane's chest. He still had a heartbeat.

"Don't stop!" Daryl yelled from the top of the car when he felt it begin to slow down. He could be clearly heard due to the bullet holes. "He ain't gonna die, but if you stop we'll _all _die."

"What the fuck do you care?" Rick screamed. "This is all your fault!"

"I just want my brother!" Daryl yelled.

"I don't know where he is!" Rick cried. "We were just defending ourselves! We tossed a bomb out and whatever happened I don't know, we ran after that."

"Fuck," Daryl growled. "His hand was gone you bastard!"

"Shane might die because of you," Rick said, "And if he does you'll be missing more than a fucking hand, I'll kill you… I'll fucking kill you!"

Rick noticed the crowd of walkers up ahead. He slowed the car down and it skid as he turned the wheel. He slammed down on the pedal and they lurched forward, flying down the road at nearly sixty miles an hour. Daryl, holding himself down on the roof of the car, began to question his methods.

"Your brother could see be alive," Rick said. "Instead of trying to kill us you should be looking for him!"

"I think you guys took him… his hand was missin'!" Daryl cried.

"You guys attacked us!" Rick yelled. "We don't want anything to do with you or your brother! We didn't take him, you dumb fucker!"

Rick screeched around another corner. Daryl held on, groaning as the car went on two wheels for a moment. It righted itself and Daryl let out a sigh of relief.

"We were just tryin' to… protect ourselves," Daryl said. "We were afraid… you'd come back."

"You sound like you're reading from a fucking teleprompter," Rick hissed. "Did you decide to go after us when we left, or was it just that brother of yours?"

Daryl breathed in deeply. "Slow down a bit. And roll down the back right window."

"Why?!"

"I'm gonna to loosen the ropes, and then I'm gonna to get into the car. I'm going to make sure your friend ain't bleeding to death."

"No fucking way," Rick snapped.

"Do you want him to die?" Daryl said.

"No," Rick said.

"Well my team is gone now, so I need you to get me out of here. In exchange I'll save your friend. Please, this is a good thing."

Rick narrowly dodged a walker that stood in the middle of the road. He gently covered the brake with his foot. If he stopped the walkers would smell the blood and swarm them – if he didn't stop Shane would die. Either way he'd be fucked, so he decided if Daryl came in and killed them both at least it would be quick.

The window rolled down and Daryl tossed his crossbow in before climbing in himself. He sighed deeply, rolling the window up before crawling over Shane's body. Rick tensed, commanding himself to leave his gun alone.

"Shit, I need to get him back here. Now," Daryl said.

"What the hell is going on?" Rick snapped.

"You focus on getting us out of here," Daryl said. "I'll keep him alive if you keep me alive. I promise."

"Fuck," Rick said. He looked at Shane as Daryl awkwardly pulled him into the back seat of the car. He blinked back tears as he swerved to dodge some more walkers. "You'll be okay, Shane. I promise," he said, looking straight ahead. "I'll get us out of here... I won't let you die."

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

_Light – air – freedom. _

_Softness, a beating heart;_

_Right against his ear. _

_A tired body. _

_Arms around him, carrying him. _

_Soft kisses on his head. _

"You'll be okay."

_Rick's voice, keeping him on this side, with the living. _

"I love you…"

_Comfort… suddenly the pain wasn't so bad. _

"I love you Shane…"

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

Shane opened his eyes, the sun beating down on him through the leaves. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes. He felt the clothes on his body. When he closed his eyes he wasn't wearing any clothes. Now he was wearing clothes, lying in a sleeping bag.

He sat up. He was in a dark tent, a second sleeping bag lying next to his. Rick's scent was in this tent, and Shane smiled to himself. Rick still slept beside him. They made it out, they survived. He pulled himself out of the bag and opened the tent.

It was a simple camp, easy to set up and easy to take down. The air was fresh and clean. This was the middle of nowhere. Away from walkers, hostel people, away from death and chaos. It was little a little slice of peaceful heaven. The wound on Shane's side was tightly bandaged, he noticed suddenly.

Rick came into view, a pile of sticks in his arms. He looked at Shane, and Shane looked back at him. The sticks fell to the ground as Rick looked at Shane, his eyes wide. Shane was the first to smile that sweet smile of his. Rick's eyes filled with tears, but Shane wasn't surprised.

"Get your ass over here, you big crybaby," Shane said, waving his hand at Rick.

Rick walked across the camp and squatted down, his hands on Shane's chest. He smiled at Shane, looking him right in the eyes. He leaned forward, kissing Shane right on the lips. Shane put his hands over Rick's and pulled him down into the tent, Rick lying on top of him. They continued to kiss, and it turned from happy to heated and passionate quickly.

Rick pulled away. "I'm so glad you're alive."

"I could tell," Shane said, nudging Rick's erection with his thigh. "As if I'd die… I'd never get to fuck you again. That would be worse than torture." He lifted his hands, wiping Rick's tears away, the smile on his face still gentle and sweet. "Thank you for saving me."

"As if I'd let you die," Rick whispered. "I'd never get fucked by you again."

Shane wrapped his arms around Rick and turned over, kissing Rick as he unbuttoned and opened his pants. Rick reached over to his side of the tent.

"What are you looking for?" Shane asked, as he pulled Rick's pants down on his knees. Rick turned around with some lube and smirked at Shane.

"When we got the camping gear," he said.

"You clever little bastard," Shane said.

He sat back, pulling Rick down in front of him. He explored Rick's body with his hands as he kissed Rick's neck and helped him get out of his clothes. Rick shuddered with every kiss, every touch and caress. Rick was soon sitting completely naked, his back against Shane's chest.

Shane stroked Rick's dick idly as he licked and nipped at Rick's ear.

"It's our second time," Rick whispered, "But for some reason I'm just as nervous as the first time."

"I hope they never go away." Rick sat up and got onto all fours. Shane took the lube and put it over one finger. He leaned over, licking Rick's hole, and Rick moaned deeply, closing his hands over the sleeping bag beneath him. Shane kissed him before slipping one finger inside, making Rick squirm. He arched his back and Shane bit his lip.

"I want to do so much to you," he whispered, pushing a second finger in, making Rick shiver. "I want to do everything to you, to make you squirm like that."

Rick chuckled. "Anything… anything for you, Shane."

Shane pulled his fingers out. He sat up, freeing his cock from his pants and positioning himself. He pushed in, a little slower than the last time, giving Rick time to adjust. Rick breathed out deeply once Shane was inside of him, moving his hips slowly. It was more loving making this time than the fucking they did last time. Rick felt Shane's hand slip around his thigh, stroking his cock.

Shane's other hand came up, rubbing his nipple. He quickened the pace slightly, making Rick grunt. He felt Shane's mouth on the back of his neck, kissing and licking as before, making him shiver and smile. Shane went even faster, making the thrusts harder. Rick pushed up, pressing the back of Shane's body. Shane moved his hands to Rick's waist and continued his thrusting, this new position rubbing his cock in new ways.

He give Rick a sideways kiss as he thrust into him, one hard slipping down to cup Rick's balls, rubbing them gently. Rick fell forward, his hands on the ground. Shane made the thrusts quick and hard, and he grunted. He was getting ready to come. He rubbed Rick's cock, focusing on the tip. Rick pushed back against Shane's cock and the two came.

Rick came on the front of Shane's sleeping bag, some of the fluid getting onto Shane's fingers, as Shane came inside Rick. They two grunted as the moment ended and the excitement calmed.

"Sorry," Rick said.

"Don't be," Shane said, raising his hand with cum. He licked it with a smile on his lips. "It's the perfect excuse to sleep with you in yours."

"It's not hard to wash out."

Both men jolted, completely naked Rick going for the cover of his sleep bag. Daryl laughed from the fireplace, shaking his head while he skinned the dead rabbit.

"Don't be a pussy, we all got the same junk," Daryl said.

Rick glowered at him.

"How long were you there for?" Rick asked.

"Fuck that, what's he doing here at all?" Shane asked, righting himself and zipping his pants up.

"I saved your life," Daryl drawled.

"After you almost killed me," Shane said.

"You ain't been shot with an arrow yet," Daryl said. "When you are then I would have almost killed you."

"Is that a threat?" Shane snapped.

"No," Rick said, pulling his underwear on. "It's not. He's been super helpful, Shane."

"Yeah? He's one of the guys who killed Morgan. Don't tell me you forgive him for that."

Rick glanced at Daryl, who gave him a passive glance. Shane didn't know that it _was_ Daryl who killed Morgan. That detail could go untold for a while. Rick sighed deeply. "I haven't forgiven him for that yet, but one step at a time."

"I'm makin' dinner motherfucka," Daryl said. "Don't pop your tits."

"Don't pop your…?" Shane murmured.

Rick finished dressing. He went over to Shane, putting his hand on Shane's arm. He whispered, "You don't have to accept him right away. I didn't either. But we need each other. Don't worry; he grows on you after a while."

Rick planted a kiss on Shane's lips. Daryl chuckled.

"When you told him _I love you_ over and over again I ain't realize y'all were gay, but when I came back into camp and he was fuckin' you up the ass I realized it… I wonder why I ain't seen it sooner?"

Shane gritted his teeth. "How long does it take for him to grow on you? Because I might kill him first."

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

"I gotta piss," Daryl said, standing. "Then I'll take first watch. Y'all can go to bed now."

"Hey Daryl," Shane said, almost reluctantly. Daryl turned around. "That was… that was good." He motioned towards the bowled that had been filled with soup earlier.

Daryl smirked. "Thanks man." He disappeared into the bushes.

Rick took Shane's hand. "Are you coming to bed with me?"

"Yes," Shane said, standing. The sleep bags had been cleaned, but Shane still got into Rick's. It was big enough for the two of them, to Shane's surprise. Rick just laughed.

"I put two together," he said.

Shane grinned. He took Rick's face in his hands and kissed him gently. "Everything that's happened is awful… god awful… and losing everyone, and nearly dying so many times, and with all those walkers still out there…" Shane sighed. "I don't know… I guess what I'm trying to say is basically I wouldn't want to deal with this, with everything, with anyone except for you."

Rick laughed. "Funny. I was thinking the same thing."

Rick curled up against Shane's side. This was right. This was everything Rick could have asked for and more. He wouldn't want to face this with anyone else, except for Shane. His mind went back to when he was wounded, and Shane would lie by his side every night.

That comfort, that safety filled him, and he drifted off to sleep in Shane's arms.

-T-H-E- -W-A-L-K-I-N-G- -D-E-A-D-

The End

A/N: The last chapter! I still have so much I want to write about… I hope my school schedule isn't too bad this semester! Um, HUGE THANKS to all my readers, and look out for my spin off series. I don't know when I'll get to post it, but I will post it once I have the time to write again. Thank you for the awesome comments and thank you for reading! Until next time.

( I PROMISE MORE SEX IN THE NEXT SERIES... )


End file.
